The Meditation of My Heart

In my devotions this morning, I noticed a phrase that is only used twice in the entire Bible- "Meditation of my heart".

Psalm 19:14- "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."

Psalm 49:3- "My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding."

This led me to dig a little deeper into the Word of Jehovah today.

The word Meditation is only used a grand total of SIX times in the Bible.

The two times listed above, plus- Psalm 5:1, 104:34, 119:97 and 119:99.

As I read over all of these verses today in their context, the Lord began to reveal to me a transition, or a growing if you will, of the person who is meditating.

Psalm 5:1- 
"Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation."

In this verse, the Psalmist is focusing on Himself- "MY words", "MY meditation".  He is asking the Lord to consider him and listen to his pleas.

I know I've done this before. "Lord, please give me       .  I deserve it because I've done             ."

In Psalm 5, the Psalmist is praying a prayer for protection. He starts the prayer by saying "Hear me! Remember the good deeds I've done!".

Psalm 19:14-
"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."

Psalm 19 is about the Law of the Lord, here are some of the previous verses- 

v7- The Law of the LORD is perfect,

convicting the soul:

The Testimony of the LORD is sure,

making wise the simple.

v8- The Statutes of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart.

v9- The fear of the LORD is clear,

enduring forever:

The judgments of the LORD are true

and righteous altogether.

v10- More to be desired are they than gold,

yea, than fine gold:

Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

v11- Moreover by them is thy servant warned:

and in keeping them there is 

Great REWARD."

There has been a change of attitude here.

He realizes his words matter less and less, and Jehovah's matters more and more.

This Psalm is followed by a prayer for victory. 

Psalm 20:1 says- "The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob defend thee."

So, even though he is realizing that his opinion matters less, he is still trying to make his voice heard.

Psalm 49:3-

"My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding."

Instead of saying- "Hear me! Hear what I have to say!" (Psalm 5) or "Let me be acceptable" (Psalm 19), the Psalmist is now saying- 

"Lord, I have accepted You! I will speak of Your Wisdom, 

I will meditate on Your Understanding."

That is a powerful change of heart!

But I noticed something even more powerful. The next Psalm, Psalm 50 is titled in my bible as "God is the Judge", here's how it starts-

"The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence:" (Psalm 50:1-3a)

So, not only is there becoming a change in how he is meditating and speaking, there is also a change of heart in how he's praying.  

He is no longer demanding, or asking, for the Lord to hear him. 

He is saying- 'God speaks and it is so.'

Psalm 104: 33-34- 

"I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD."

Here, he has gone yet a step further! He is no longer speaking, or asking to be heard. He is planning to sing to the LORD as long as he can!

He is now calling his meditation 'sweet'. He is glad whenever he thinks of Jehovah.

And further- Psalm 105:1-6 says- "O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy Name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and His strength: seek His face forevermore. Remember His marvelous works that He hath done; His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth."

He is now sharing the good news with others. He is telling others the steps he himself has taken to gain a closer walk with the Lord.

Psalm 119:97-104-

v97- O how I love Thy law!

It is my meditation all the day.

v98- Thou through Thy commandments hast

made me wiser than mine enemies:

for they are ever with me.

v99- I have more understanding than all my teachers:

for Thy testimonies are my meditation.

v100- I understand more than the ancients,

because I keep Thy precepts.

v101- I have refrained my feet from every evil way,

that I might keep Thy word.

v102- I have not departed from Thy judgments:

for Thou hast taught me.

v103- How sweet are Thy words unto my taste!

Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

v104- Through Thy precepts I get understanding:

therefore I hate every false way.

There has now been a complete transformation.

He meditates on the Law and the Testimonies of Jehovah daily, and it has completely changed his life.

The Law is the Word of God, the Testimonies are the acts of God.

So, by meditating on what the Lord says He will do, and meditating on what the Lord has already done, - it creates in the heart-

• a love for the Law
• wisdom greater than your enemies have
• more understanding than your teachers
• more understanding than the ancients
• a desire to refrain from doing evil
• not departing from the judgments of the Lord
• a desire for the words of the Lord above honey ("good" things of this life)
• a hatred for the false ways of the world.

I think back to Psalm 19:11- "...and in keeping them (the Law of the Lord) there is GREAT REWARD."

The eight things above are just some of the rewards of following the Lord.

Oh, Heavenly Father! Help me to meditate on Your words and testimonies above all other things in my life!

Are you meditating on the Word of the Lord? Do you think on the testimonies of His faithfulness in your life and the lives of others? 

If you do, it could result in some heart-changing, mind-blowing, life-altering times with the Lord!  

But- 

What should we desire more than that?

Freedom in Christ

I am FREE!

I am OWNED!

  I can hear you right now- 'Wait a minute! How can you be free if you are owned?'

Well, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20--

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?'

"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

During this week before Easter I was thinking about what Christ provided for us through His death on Calvary, and through His miraculous Resurrection on Easter morning some 2,000 years ago.

We always hear of the freedom we receive as Christians through Christ’s death and resurrection. I was thinking about this today, the Lord spoke to me and said, “You’re not completely free. I OWN you!”

He reminded me of the above verse-  

“For ye are bought with a price…”

How am I bought with a price? Through the death of Jesus Christ!

Consider the following passages of Scripture-

Romans 8:1-5

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are 

in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, 

but after the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, 

condemned sin in the flesh:

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

 -And-

Romans 6:1-10

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, 

that grace may abound?

God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, 

even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, 

that henceforth we should not serve sin.

For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall 

also live with him:

Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, 

he liveth unto God.

  

AMEN AND AMEN!!!

Reread these passages if you need to!

We are freed from sin through the death of Jesus Christ! 

But, once we have accepted His gift of Salvation, we are now servants of Jehovah, and we are to be seeking to serve Him in every thought, word, and deed until the day we die and meet Him face to face in Heaven!

By accepting Christ as your Savior, you are now owned by the BEST Master in the universe! 

So, as you go through the rest of this week and on into the rest of your life, don’t just think about the FREEDOM you have in Christ, take it a step further and challenge yourself to find ways to thank Him through service to Him for what He’s done for you!

Christ gave His ALL, shouldn’t we at least TRY?